Iran-Iraq ties strain further

[54anickel]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4F2564A3-FD71-42CC-A211-BEEE68A63260.htm

Relations between Iran and Iraq have worsened after Tehran said it would not discuss serious issues with Baghdad's interim authorities and an Iraqi Islamic group kidnapped an Iranian diplomat.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Sunday it was summoning Iraq's top diplomat in Tehran over claims that four Iranian spies have been arrested in Baghdad, the latest accusation of Iranian interference in its nieghbour's affairs.

"Today we are going to summon the Iraqi charge d'affaires to the Iranian foreign ministry, and we are going to ask him to give us proof," spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters. He added Iraqi officials should also "stop creating a bad atmosphere" between Iran and Iraq.

snip>

Ties have also been strained over Saddam's trial, with Iran complaining that his alleged use of chemical weapons against the Islamic republic during their 1980-88 war was left off the charge sheet.



http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=47809A73-6B23-4443-9D2353FF1D1E6C8F
Tehran Summons Iraqi Envoy Over Reported Detentions

snip>

According to Iranian expert and political science professor Amal Hamada, who teaches at Cairo University, Tehran is attempting to increase its influence in Iraq by taking advantage of the political situations both in Iraq and in the United States.

"They're trying to take advantage of the situation in Iraq and the advantage of the domestic situation in the USA, meaning, the Iranians know that the USA administration is going to be very busy with the presidential elections coming in the next few months, so they (US) may not be willing to escalate things in the Middle East," she commented. "With the government in Iraq, they know that the transitional government is not as strong as it should be. So, I think they're trying to win compromises, to win a kind of influence in Iraq by taking advantage of the situation in general."

Ms. Hamada says she has no doubt that Iran has spies in Iraq. But, she says, she believes many other countries, both from the Middle East and the west, also have intelligence agents in Iraq.

On Sunday, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Hamid Reza Asefi, called on Iraqi officials to stop creating what he called a "bad atmosphere" between Iran and Iraq.

more...


http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/9/2004&Cat=2&Num=007
U.S. May Be Provoking Clashes In Iraq: FM Spokesman

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Expressing regret over the resurgence of deadly clashes in the holy city of Najaf and other Iraqi cities in recent days, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday that the United States may be behind these clashes as Iraq prepares to regain sovereignty.

Concern over the rapid transfer of power to the Iraqi people may have motivated the U.S. to create tension in order to justify its continued military presence in Iraq, Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters at his weekly press briefing.

Asefi also said that the U.S. brutality against the Iraqi people is both unacceptable and unjustified.

The desecration of holy sites is unacceptable to Muslims and non-Muslims, and resorting to force and terror will only exacerbate the situation, he added.

more...

[tlcandie]

1. You KNOW you are WAY past the looking glass when Tehran

is stating the EXACT same thoughts/sentiments as you are!!!! :wow: Snipped from the original posted link:

<snip>
Expressing regret over the resurgence of deadly clashes in the holy city of Najaf and other Iraqi cities in recent days, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday that the United States may be behind these clashes as Iraq prepares to regain sovereignty.

Concern over the rapid transfer of power to the Iraqi people may have motivated the U.S. to create tension in order to justify its continued military presence in Iraq, Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters at his weekly press briefing.

Asefi also said that the U.S. brutality against the Iraqi people is both unacceptable and unjustified.
<snip>


And to think, I had been going to say that I bet that some how, some way the US was behind this so they can get their IRAN war!!!

[acmavm]

2. Oh yeah, I believe the US is behind a lot of this crap. Look at the stupid

move the military pulled when it tried to arrest as Sadr.

But then again, didn't bush* just say he didn't want to be a war president, that they had to deal with 'what came our way'? Well, these guys are out there trying to make damn sure that a lot more that Iraq 'comes our way'.

As for the truth coming from a source such as Iran, ain't life strange? But then, I'd probably trust anyone before I'd trust this administration. And that's not a good thing when you can't trust your own government. I know that this has happened before, but not so blatantly or without any regard whatsoever as to whether or not most people know what the truth really is.

[54anickel]

3. Scary, ain't it tlcandie! Keep you eyes on the headlines the next

few day, bet we'll be reading a lot from Bushco about the dangers of Iran.

[tlcandie]

4. Condi alread started.. did you see that thread?

So unbelieveable, yet we knew it would happen. I think this whole regime is about nothing but shock and awe.

[54anickel]

5. Ewww, just caught that thread now. If she's attempting to sow the

seeds of another escalation, she certainly wasted no time! The timing of all of these just seems too unreal, IMHO. :shrug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x736896

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. Iran-Iraq ties strain further

Oh goody... can we arm both sides against the middle?? Wouldn't that be a first??